Zackry Taylor, 25, of 710 Eighth St., Marietta, said in Washington County Common Pleas Court Friday that he had consistently “messed up” because of “stubbornness.”

According to the Washington County Prosecutor’s Office, Taylor engaged in sexual conduct with a teenage girl between January and March and had been communicating with her through text and Snapchat. Then while held in the Washington County Jail on a parole violation, he called a friend to have them delete that evidence from his phone.

Taylor was initially indicted on a fourth-degree felony count of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor and third-degree felony count of tampering with evidence.

Taylor pleaded guilty July 20 to unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.

Taylor is now a Tier III sex offender for life, meaning once he is released from prison in four years, he will have to register his home address and any place of education every 90 days.

“This is the third sex offense, he’s a predator,” said Washington County Assistant Prosecutor Joe Derkin Friday. “He keeps getting older and the girls he preys on stay 15.”

Derkin referred to the pre-sentence investigation’s report during sentencing Friday, noting the pattern of behavior and that Taylor indicated he didn’t see anything wrong with pursuing minors.

“My stubbornness has gotten me kicked out of programs, I messed up because I have a problem with rules,” said Taylor. “And when I was in prison I didn’t have any kind of program but the other inmates helped me understand why what I did was wrong.”

Taylor asked the court for help, recognizing a problem with his behavior.

“Now I do understand why underage girls are not able (to consent), or why I’m not supposed to be around them or have sexual contact with them because it’s against the law,” he further explained. “They’re immature, they merely imitate maturity.”

Taylor’s defense attorney, Shawna Landaker, asked Judge Mark Kerenyi to only assign a year on the post-release control violation and an additional year for the new offense, but Derkin asked for more.

“The maximum he could have gotten was five years and eight months,” said Derkin following the sentencing where he asked for four years incarceration.

Kerenyi said while the defendant’s statement in court was “good” Friday, Taylor shows no genuine remorse for his crimes.

He thereby sentenced Taylor to 12 months in prison for the new offense to run consecutive to three years in prison for violating his post-release control on the 2017 conviction of importuning, a fourth-degree felony.

That 2017 conviction was when Taylor was registered as a Tier II sex offender.

Kerenyi also detailed in court Friday a lengthy record of theft convictions, battery and a 2011 corruption of a minor, when Taylor was first registered as a Tier I sex offender.

Taylor was awarded 69 days of confinement credit for time served prior to sentencing.